Meta (Facebook) Pixel and Conversions API tracking FAQ

If you want to read more about the integration, materials can be found here.

What is the difference between Meta Pixel and Conversions API tracking?

Meta tracking typically allows the clients to monitor how effective their ads are on Facebook, meaning how many customers have clicked on the ad that led the user to actually purchase that activity.

Conversions API shares first-party data from the server, while Meta Pixel relies on the third-party cookies from web browsers.

Conversions API is called a server pixel, while Meta Pixel (old Facebook integration) is called a browser pixel.

Meta Pixel is less effective than the Conversions API pixel because:

• most of the browsers will drop third-party cookie support in the near future,
• latest updates made by iOS in OS 14.5+ require the user to opt-in for tracking,
• the conversion events are not sent in case the user has an ad blocker.

That means that Meta Pixel will not track events in all the above cases.

How do I know if my client is using Meta Pixel or Conversions API?

FareHarbor stores both the Meta Pixel and the Conversions API Pixels under the same part of the Dashboard under Settings > Analytics Services.

• If only the Pixel ID is populated for the Facebook dropdown, then that is a Facebook browser pixel.
• If only the Pixel ID, conversion token and the URL are populated for the Facebook dropdown, then that is a Conversions API (server) pixel.

Can Meta Pixel be enabled for all clients?

For Europe, Meta Pixel Tracking can be implemented on a reactive basis. In other words, if a client requests us to add Facebook conversion tracking in their Dashboard, we can do so, but it is not something we should be proactively promoting.

Client reached out that the Facebook tracking is not working. How can I troubleshoot this?

For Meta Pixel: Verify that the client has added the pixel code on their website.

1. To check this, you can use the Meta Pixel extension, as shown here:
2. Go to the FareHarbor Dashboard in Settings > Analytics Services and check:
   1. For Meta Pixel: only the pixel has been populated.
   2. For Conversions API tracking
      • Token is populated.
      • Facebook Source URL is populated. This should not be empty or be a Facebook URL or a FareHarbor URL. Typically, it is the client’s domain.
3. Ask the client to create a test from the Meta Events Manager. To do this:

For Facebook Pixel:

1. Add pixel to your Dashboard.
   1. Go to your pixel > Test events tab.
   2. You will see the “Test browser pixel” option.
   3. Enter the website URL and make a purchase event.
   4. Once you complete the purchase, you will see a browser event Test Events tabs.

2. Please note, the event will only display here under the Test events tab, however it won’t be reflected under the Overview tab.
   This is how it will look under Test Events after the event is successful:

   

For Conversions API

1. Add Conversions API Pixels to your Dashboard.
2. Generate a new access token and copy the token.
3. Go to your pixel > Test events tab.
4. You will see a test server event.
5. Click on Graph API Explorer.
6. You will see Access Token on the right side. Paste the access token you copied from step 2 above.
7. Click on Submit.
8. In the response, it should be event_received = 1 and should also generate fbtrace_id.
9. If there is an error in the response, generate a new token and go back to step 2 above.

Once the response is successful, you will see the server event on the Test events page.

As with pixel, you will only see the event on the Test events page.

If the events are successful, the integration with FareHarbor is also successful.

Moreover, the client can also see the Facebook transactions under the Events Manager page > Overview > All Activity > the Purchase event.

Why can’t I see all my events under the Recent Activities tab when I click on a pixel View details?

Note, as per Facebook the timing for showing the events in the Recent activities tab might differ, based on how they are processed. Therefore, not all the events will be displayed there. However, you will see them all in the Overview > All activity section.

Client is using the Meta Pixel Helper extension to track a successful integration. Does that help?

• For Meta Pixel: this will show the events tracked. Note that ad blockers can prevent the pixel from being triggered.
• For Conversions API: the pixel is added only on the confirmation page, therefore, the extensions will not recognize the pixel and will display a warning.

Why am I getting a warning for the Meta Pixel Helper extension?

The code for the browser purchase event is always loaded on the confirmation page, but the event is only triggered if the server event (from the Conversions API) is not triggered. The extension will give a warning if the Conversions API is configured in the FareHarbor Dashboard, because the browser extension will see the purchase event code but no event is actually triggered in the browser.

Can I add multiple pixels to the same Dashboard?

• For Meta Pixel: you can add multiple pixels.
• For Conversions API only one pixel would need to be added to a Dashboard. If two or more are added, then the events will be attributed only to the first pixel that was added to the Dashboard.
• You can have on the same Dashboard both Meta Pixel and Conversions API Pixel. The events will be sent to both pixels.
  • However, we typically recommend only remaining with the Conversions API pixel since that will provide a better picture on the conversion events.

Can Facebook Analytics gather all possible user data?

No, Facebook does not track all possible user data. For Conversions API, a match is performed on a few parameters defined when the setup is configured. Then, just the purchasing details are sent to Facebook for optimizing the ads. The details about the parameters for setup and what is sent for a purchase event are available in the help page here.

If the client has different campaigns running, can they see a conversion rate for each different campaign?

The conversion rate for each campaign are displayed in the ads reporting section.

Why can’t my client link their ad on Facebook to FareHarbor?

A Facebook ad should always send the user to the website and not to a Lightframe page. The landing page should match the ad purpose (promoting an activity through the ad and sending the user to the respective activity page).

Linking the ad to FareHarbor Lightframe is against Facebook’s rules, as you cannot impersonate a company by running ads for them and linking to another site, so the ad needs to be directed to the client’s site.

Having the ad linked to a well-crafted landing page will provide a better user experience for the end customer, allowing them to see all the activities available in one place and determine the right activity to purchase.

What do I do if client says that the Meta Pixel is not showing in FareHarbor, but it has been added to the dashboard?

The Meta Pixel only fires on the confirmation page after a customer has made a booking. If they’re looking at the initial steps in the lightframe or booking process, they won’t see the pixel through the pixel helper extension. The pixel will only be added to FareHarbor on the booking confirmation page.

Does fareharbor.com allow embedding JavaScript code?

You can embed JavaScript on the confirmation page as custom code, including Meta Pixel. However, we recommend using the Meta Pixel through the Dashboard.

I have been contacted by the Product team that my companies are receiving the following errors:

100, subcode 33: Unsupported post request.

This error may occur if the user’s access token is not added as a system user with appropriate permissions to their ad account that owns a Custom Audience. Verify the ad account in Business Manager and verify all system users appear under the ad account as Admin:

1. Click on Business Settings.
2. Click the ad account.
3. Select Add people.
4. Search for system user and add them as Admins.

This is an error that appears if the access token is not added by a system user with the appropriate permissions.

190: Invalid OAuth 2.0 Access Token

Request the client to send a new access token that needs to be added in the Analytics Services in FareHarbor Dashboard.

Is Facebook tracking other events apart from the purchase?

Currently, FareHarbor offers only the conversion event tracking. We are exploring some other events, but it is not on the short term roadmap.

My client has a FareHarbor site and wants to track other events, like when people land on their website. Is that possible?

Yes, you can add the Meta Pixel to a site to track page views. More details here. The LSS team can help with the implementation.

Is it possible for me as a client to test an ad from Facebook or Instagram?

Unfortunately, Facebook does not allow this option. The only way that you can check that your pixel is set up correctly is to create a test event from Event Manager.

In the case of free items, are those transactions also recorded in Facebook?

Yes, they will be recorded with $0.

Can we improve the Event Matching Quality score? This is showing to be low at the moment.

Having a low EMQ score is not necessarily an indication of poor effectiveness, at least for the Conversions API. We send three customer parameters (Client IP, Client User Agent, Email). Based on these, Facebook has enough data to associate this event with a real user. Adding more parameters is not GDPR-compliant. We will not be adding additional parameters for this. Make sure however, to add all the parameters defined in this document.

Do clients need to generate a new Meta Pixel when setting up the Conversions API?

No, they can use their initial pixel but they need to make sure to update it to be a server pixel, configure the right parameters and provide the access token to us for it. We typically recommend to the clients to set up a new pixel, where possible.

Do clients need to add the Conversions API Pixel (the pixel used for the Conversions API) to their website or only the Dashboard?

The clients would need to go through the setup described here in order to make sure that they’ve configured the Conversions API properly. There is no additional code that needs to be added to the client’s website for Conversions API Pixel.

For the Meta Pixel, the client will need to add the code to their website.

In case purchase events are showing up under Overview but not under Test Events, is this an issue?

No, that does not represent a problem. Test events are used to see if the integration is working and events are fired. There is no relation with the live events so they won’t be displayed in the overview tab to inflate the numbers.